Gate-Crashers
by cleotheo
Summary: When Hermione gets an invitation to her grandparents anniversary party she's dreading it due to her two cousins, whom she's never gotten along with. Hermione's best friends, Harry and Ron, and her secret boyfriend, Draco, all want to be there for her. Unbeknown to her they set out to gate-crash the party and be there for Hermione. Fun, lighthearted short story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Before we begin, I just want to say that I know this sort of story has been done before by other people – but I've had a few people ask me about writing a story where Hermione's family have some sort of reunion and some of her family are not very friendly towards her but get a shock when they find out just what sort of life she has. So this is my take on that – with a few unique twists.**

 **This story is set in a universe where Voldemort was killed when Harry was a baby – meaning there's no second war.**

 **The story has 8 chapters and updates will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. I hope people enjoy it.**

* * *

Less than three weeks before the Easter holidays, the Head Girl, Hermione Granger, was sitting eating breakfast with her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and Ron's sister, Ginny, when her owl soared into the Great Hall. After a few years of using school owls to converse with her parents, Hermione had bought her own owl, Persephone. She'd made sure her parents had bonded with the bird when she bought it, and every few days Persephone flew home so that her parents could send any letters to Hermione without having to wait for her to write first.

"I wish my owl was as graceful," Ron sighed as Persephone landed beside Hermione without causing any fuss.

Ron's owl was a tiny little thing named Pig, which he'd gotten off Harry for his birthday a few years ago. However, despite Ron's efforts to try and to train the owl, Pig was still as wild as ever. He never appeared without creating havoc, unlike Persephone and Harry's well behaved owl, Hedwig.

"But Pig's so cute," Ginny gushed. She'd actually been the one to name Pig, albeit accidentally, and even though Ron had tried to change it, the owl only answered to Pig.

"Cute but useless," Ron muttered as he grabbed a slice of toast and smothered it in strawberry jam.

Chuckling at Ron, Hermione untied the letter on Persephone's leg and let her owl nibble on the crumbs on her plate. Once Persephone had finished eating she took off into the air and flew back out of the window, heading to the owlrey for when Hermione next needed her. Hermione then turned her attention to the letter from her parents. It felt thicker than normal, and Hermione had to wonder what was included in the letter. Tearing open the envelope she soon found out when an ivory invitation accompanied her mother's letter.

The invitation was to her grandparents golden wedding anniversary, which was to be held at a fancy hotel not far from where Hermione and her parents lived. Hermione's paternal grandparents had always been fond of a party, so the fact their anniversary was going to be celebrated in style wasn't a surprise. Even the fact they'd sent their own granddaughter an official invitation wasn't surprising as Hermione's grandmother liked to do things with a flourish.

"Anything interesting?" Harry asked Hermione as she studied the invitation.

"An invite to my grandparents golden wedding anniversary," Hermione answered, placing the invitation on the table.

"They sent you an invite?" Ron questioned in surprise as he looked at the official invitation Hermione had received. "Wow, that's very formal."

"That's my grandmother," Hermione replied with a shrug.

"Wow, golden anniversary. That's fifty years," Harry said. "Imagine being married for fifty years."

"Sounds like torture," Ron quipped.

"What it is, is romantic," Ginny corrected her brother. "Are your grandparents still happy Hermione?"

"They are," Hermione answered with a smile. "They got married when they were just seventeen, and they're still in love all these years later."

"Getting married at seventeen, were they mad?" Ron asked, his face a picture of pure horror at the thought of marrying so young. He was seventeen now and the last thing he wanted to be doing was tying himself to one woman for the rest of his life.

"Not mad, just in love," Hermione replied. "Besides, most people married young back in those days. It's not like now when people date for years or just live together. Back then if you got involved with someone, you usually ended up married to them."

"So when is this party?" Harry asked, tilting his head to see the invitation properly. "Hey, it's over the Easter holidays."

"I know," Hermione replied with a sigh.

She'd had plans for the Easter holidays, but it looked like she would be changing them. Even if she had thought about skipping her grandparents' party, her mother's letter had warned her that it wasn't an option. Hermione's mother had been clear that she was to go home for the holidays and attend the party.

"Why are so upset about it?" Ginny asked. "It's not like you had plans. You said you were just planning on staying at Hogwarts to study."

"I was," Hermione lied. Her plans involved someone other than her friends, and she'd wanted to wait until after the Easter holidays to tell her friends about what she'd been up to.

"So what's the problem?" Harry questioned.

"According to the letter my Mum wrote, we're going to be staying at the hotel where the party is being held the whole weekend. My Grandparents want a full on Granger family reunion."

"Still not seeing the problem," Ron said.

"The problem would be my two cousins, Rebecca and Izabelle," Hermione explained. "Izzy is two years older than me, and Becky is a few months younger than I am. They're pretty tight and they both hate me."

"I'm sure that's not true," Ginny soothed.

"It is," Hermione insisted. "Growing up I was always the odd one out. Obviously they're sisters so they had a closer bond, but I still spent plenty of time with them. But I wasn't like them. I was the boring one, who was happy with her nose in a book."

"No change there then," Ron joked with a laugh.

Hermione chuckled along with Ron, knowing he teased her about being a bookworm in an affectionate way, unlike her cousins who had just been cruel. "I was also the one strange things happened around. Of course it was accidental magic, but I didn't know it then and even if I had, I couldn't have told them what was happening. Back then, I was just the weird little cousin."

"But that was years ago," Harry argued. "Surely things have changed."

"They hadn't last time I saw them," Hermione admitted. "I saw them both over Christmas during my first year at Hogwarts, and they made fun of the fact I went to a boarding school. I couldn't exactly tell them it was a magical school, so they teased me about being sent away."

"They don't sound very nice," Ginny said with a frown.

"They're not really," Hermione replied. "I've only seen them a few times since then, and they continue to mock me. First they said I was so boring I would have no friends, and then when I told them I had amazing friends, they wouldn't believe me. Unfortunately all my pictures of us lot are wizarding pictures, and I could hardly show them moving pictures. Having to spend a weekend with them is hardly my idea of fun, in fact it's more like torture."

"Can't you get out of it?" Ron asked. "Can't you tell your parents you're studying for exams?"

"Mum made it clear there was to be no excuses," Hermione said with a shrug as she stuffed her letter back in her bag and got to her feet. "I'll just have to grin and bear it. I'll see you guys later, I have to go or I'll be late for Ancient Runes."

Saying goodbye to her friends, Hermione rushed off before she was late. It wasn't until after she'd left that Harry spotted her invitation sitting on the table. While Hermione had stuffed her letter from her mother into her bag, she'd forgotten about the invitation to her grandparents' party.

"Poor Hermione," Harry said as he picked up the invitation and studied it. "I would hate to have to spend a weekend with my relatives."

"That's because your relatives are nasty," Ron retorted.

Harry had lived with his mother's relatives until the end of third year when he'd then gone to live with his godfather, Sirius Black, after Sirius had been pardoned for crimes he'd never committed. The Dursleys had never treated Harry right, and it had been the best day of his life when he left and went to live with Sirius. Of course another added bonus of living with Sirius was that he got to spend more time with Ron and his family.

"True, but Hermione's cousins don't sound much better," Harry said. "I just wish there was something we could do to make her weekend more bearable."

Ron nodded, also wishing there was something they could do to put Hermione's snobby cousins in their place.

"I can think of something you could do," Ginny said with a smirk.

"Why do I get the feeling whatever you're going to suggest is underhand," Ron remarked, scrutinising his sister.

"It's not," Ginny replied. "It's just sneaky."

"Come on then, tell us your plan," Harry urged.

"It's simple. You've got the address of where Hermione's grandparents are holding their party, you just gate-crash. Show Hermione's cousins that she does have friends."

"Can we really just gate-crash a party?" Harry asked.

"I'm not suggesting you go for the whole weekend, just turn up on the night of the big party," Ginny said. "Hermione's family might be staying at the hotel all weekend, but I doubt all the guests are. Just show up on the night of the party, and sneak in. You can then show Hermione's bratty cousins that they're wrong about her."

Harry and Ron shared a look as they contemplated Ginny's suggestion. They knew that if they spoke to Hermione about accompanying her to the party she would more than likely turn them down, but this way they could support their friend and get one over on her horrid cousins. With matching smirks, the pair reached a silent agreement to take Ginny's idea and run with it. They would make sure Hermione wasn't humiliated when she saw her cousins. For once their best friend was going to come out on top.

 _ **000000000000000000000000000000000000000**_

By the end of lessons, Hermione was still thinking about the party she had to attend over the Easter holidays. A party wouldn't be too bad, but it was the rest of the weekend that she was dreading. She really didn't fancy spending a whole weekend with Rebecca and Izabelle, especially as she knew they would do nothing more than insult her. Even when she told them about her life, well the parts she could mention, they didn't believe her. They didn't believe she had such good friends, and they certainly wouldn't believe that she was dating one of the hottest boys in school.

Hermione had just reached the head dorms when she heard Harry calling her name. Turning round, she smiled as her best friend approached her.

"You forgot your invitation this morning," He said, handing it over to Hermione. "I meant to give it to your earlier, but it slipped my mind."

In actual fact, Harry had made sure to make an exact copy of the invitation. Not only did he and Ron need it for the address, but they might also need a fake invitation to get into the party.

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Don't want to forget this, do I?"

Harry chuckled at Hermione's reaction, and promising to see her at dinner, he headed off to Gryffindor Tower. With the invitation back in her possession, Hermione muttered the password to the head dorms and entered the cosy common room that she shared with the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy. Draco was also her boyfriend, and had been since the beginning of the year. Over the Easter holidays they'd planned on telling his parents, and if that went well they'd been planning on informing their friends of their romance.

"Hey," Draco greeted, looking up and grinning at Hermione. When she didn't return his smile, he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"We're going to have to cancel our plans for the holidays," Hermione announced as she slumped onto the sofa beside her boyfriend.

"Why?"

Draco was hoping the cancellation had nothing to do with Hermione's friends. He knew they wouldn't really like Hermione dating a Slytherin, but he always figured that once they knew about them that they would learn to accept it. After all, they loved Hermione more than they hated him, or at least he hoped they did.

"I've got a big family thing," Hermione said, explaining about the invitation she'd received that morning.

"But it's only one weekend. What if we visit my parents the following weekend?"

"I guess we could do that," Hermione conceded, brightening up at the realisation not everything was ruined.

"Of course we can," Draco said. "Family comes first Hermione. I understand that you have to celebrate with your grandparents."

"If only it didn't involve my cousins," Hermione groaned.

"I take it your cousins aren't very nice," Draco said, making sure he said nothing derogatory about muggles.

"That's an understatement," Hermione snorted. "They make Pansy look like the nicest girl in school."

"Ouch," Draco remarked with a chuckle. "Are they really that bad?"

"Yeah," Hermione answered with a nod. "I'm too strange for them."

"I guess not being able to tell them about your magic can't help," Draco said as he wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

"I think even if I could tell them it would only give them more ammunition against me," Hermione said with a sigh as she rested her head on Draco's shoulder. "Not only would I be an unattractive, boring bookworm, but I'd be a witch as well. They would just love to taunt me about being a witch."

"Just for the record, they're completely wrong about you," Draco said. "You're not boring, and you're certainly not unattractive. You're the most interesting girl I've ever met, and I think you're gorgeous."

"I notice you didn't correct the bookworm comment," Hermione teased, looking up at Draco with a grin.

"That's because you are a bookworm," Draco replied. "You're my sexy bookworm, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

Laughing lightly, Hermione leaned up and connected her lips with Draco's. Tangling his hand in his girlfriend's brunette curls, Draco passionately kissed her back.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" He asked as they finally broke for some air.

"I'm going for a shower," Hermione replied. "Alone," she added before Draco had a chance to suggest anything. "I promised to meet Ron before dinner to help with his Transfiguration homework, and if you come in the shower with me, I'll end up distracted."

"Later then," Draco said.

"Later," Hermione vowed, giving Draco another kiss before she got to her feet.

"I'm just heading down to the dungeons to see Blaise," Draco said as he also stood up. "That way I'm not tempted to sneak up on you in the shower."

Sticking her invitation on the bookshelf in the corner, Hermione said her goodbyes and headed up for a shower. Draco looked at the invitation, his mind whirling with a plan, before he turned and left the common room. He needed to speak to Blaise and run his idea past his best friend. Blaise was the only person aware of his relationship with Hermione, therefore Draco always went to him when he wanted to discuss his girlfriend.

Down in the dungeons, Draco found Blaise chatting up a sixth year girl. Dragging his friend away from the fawning witch, Draco headed to the boys dorms so they could have some privacy. Theo, Crabbe and Goyle were all down in the common room so Draco knew they weren't going to run into any of them in his old dorm.

"This better be important," Blaise muttered as he threw himself on his bed. "I was about to get some action there."

"I'm sure you can pick up where you left off," Draco remarked as he settled down at the bottom of Theo's bed. Now he was no longer sleeping in the room, his old bed had vanished and there was slightly more room on the dorm. "I want to talk to you."

"I figured as much," Blaise replied with a roll of his eyes. "I didn't think you'd dragged me in here for a passion filled encounter. So spill, what's going on? Hermione hasn't backed out of the holidays, has she?"

"Not exactly," Draco said as he explained what was happening with his girlfriend.

"Bummer," Blaise said with a sympathetic smile. "But at least you can still introduce her to your parents. You'll just not have as long to charm them."

"That's not what I want to talk about," Draco said. "I want to talk about the party Hermione is going to for her grandparents' anniversary."

"Why do you want to talk about a muggle party?" Blaise frowned. "Did she invite you to go with her?"

"No. To be honest, I don't think it's occurred to her to ask if she could bring anyone," Draco said. "But I want to go anyway."

"You're going to gate-crash a muggle party?" Blaise looked at his friend in disbelief. He couldn't believe even Draco could suggest something as outlandish.

"Yeah," Draco confirmed with a nod. "Hermione mentioned some cousins, and she's clearly dreading seeing them. She didn't say much I get the impression they've made her life hell whenever she sees them."

"And you want to turn up and rub their noses in it," Blaise guessed. "You want them to see that Hermione has a hot, sexy boyfriend."

"Exactly," Draco answered with a smirk, before frowning at his friend. "Is there something you want to tell me Blaise? First you mention us getting passionate, and now you're calling me sexy? Does someone have a crush?"

"Don't be so stupid. Everyone knows I like women, in fact I love women," Blaise said with a grin. "I'm just speaking objectively. You're a good looking lad, the whole school knows that. After me, I would say you were the most sought after boy in the entire school."

"No, no, no," Draco said. "I'm the most sought after boy in the school. You play second fiddle to me."

"As if," Blaise scoffed. "Everyone knows Blaise Zabini is the hot property in Hogwarts. I outdo you in every way. I'm so much sexier than you."

"You know we could argue about this all day and never agree," Draco laughed.

"You're right," Blaise said. "Let's get back to gate-crashing a muggle party. Do you have any idea how you're going to achieve it?"

"That's where my best friend is going to come into play," Draco answered with a smirk. "Together, I'm confident we can find an answer."

Blaise smirked back at Draco, knowing that together they could find a solution to any problem facing them. They were Slytherins after all, and there wasn't much that fazed them. Finding a way to gate-crash a muggle party was child's-play, especially after some of the things they'd gotten up to over the course of the last seven years. Rest assured, they'd find a way to get to Hermione's party and show her cousins just how great Hermione's life was. After they'd finished, her cousins would never mock her again. Instead they would be insanely jealous of her hot, sexy boyfriend.


	2. Chapter 2

"We're here," Richard Granger announced, pulling Hermione's focus from the book she was reading.

It was late Friday afternoon and Hermione and her parents were arriving at the hotel where her grandparents were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. A big dinner was arranged for that evening, followed by the party on Saturday night. The family would then have Sunday lunch together before going their separate ways.

"It is a lovely hotel," Jean remarked as the trio alighted from the car. "Don't you think so, Hermione?"

"It does look nice," Hermione agreed.

"Cheer up sweetheart," Jean said, wrapping her arm around her less than enthusiastic daughter. "I know this wasn't the way you wanted to spend your break, but family is important. Your grandmother would be devastated if you hadn't shown up."

"I know," Hermione admitted. She was actually looking forward to seeing her grandparents, it was just her cousins she could do without.

"Okay then, let's go," Richard called as he pulled the bags from the boot and locked the car. "We're going to check in and catch up with everyone at dinner."

Hermione felt a surge of relief at the fact they weren't going to be immediately joining up with the rest of the family. At least she could get settled in her room and get freshened up before having to face her cousins.

The reception of the hotel was a large, marble area with several doors and lifts leading to the various parts of the hotel. While her parents checked them in, Hermione picked up a leaflet about the hotel. The leaflet included a map of the place, and what amenities were available to the guests.

"There's your key, sweetheart," Richard said, handing Hermione her room key. "Your room is just opposite ours."

The rooms were on the fourth floor and when Hermione entered her room she found it had a stunning view of the golf course that ran along the back of the hotel. No doubt the golf course was one of the reasons her grandparents picked the hotel as her grandfather was a keen golfer. As for the room itself, it was a large room decorated in pale purple. It had a gorgeous double bed, and an en-suite bathroom with a sunken tub and glass shower.

Deciding the place was rather nice, Hermione set about unpacking. For dinner tonight she had a lovely pale blue dress with white spots to wear, but for the party tomorrow evening she was planning on going all out. She was going to show her cousins that she was no longer the odd little girl they used to tease. She was a confident, powerful witch, and she wasn't going to let them intimidate her. Putting her clothes away, she used a quick spell to make sure her dresses remained in pristine condition.

As she unpacked and prepared to grab a quick shower, Hermione contemplated if she should have invited Draco. Her parents knew she had a boyfriend, although they'd yet to meet Draco, and she doubted they would have objected to her bringing him along, but it hadn't occurred to her until now. Of course she could still try and get a message to him before tomorrow night, but it was very short notice and after already letting him down over the Easter holidays she felt it was unfair to expect him to drop everything and be by her side. She would just have to deal with her family without him, and inwardly berate herself for not thinking about inviting him earlier.

Pushing aside her belated thoughts about having Draco around for support, Hermione grabbed a quick shower. She then spent almost twenty minutes drying her hair and using a magical hair product to tame her wild hair into sleek curls. Hermione was so satisfied with the end result that she left her hair hanging loose. With her hair sorted she then applied a tiny bit of make-up and slipped into her blue dress. The blue dress had spaghetti straps and came down to just above her knees. Hermione teemed it with a little white cardigan, light blue ballet flat shoes and a small white bag.

Before she left her room, Hermione debated about leaving her wand behind, but in the end she squeezed it into her bag. It wasn't like she was going to use it since they were in the muggle world and none of her family knew about her magic but she felt incomplete without her wand. She just felt so much more secure knowing her wand was in easy reach if anything should happen.

Leaving her room, Hermione knocked on her parents' door to let them know she was ready. Hermione's parents were already ready, and once they knew Hermione was sorted they all headed downstairs. Hermione's grandparents had booked one of the function rooms for the meal, and when they entered they found the place decorated in gold balloons and streamers. They also found the room already filling up with family, who were all catching up and checking which table they were sitting at.

Both Hermione's grandparents came from big families, with them both having numerous brothers and sisters. Bar the relatives who were dead, all her grandparents' siblings were present along with their children and grandchildren. Hermione's grandparents themselves only had the two sons, Richard and his older brother, David. It was David who was the father of Rebecca and Izabelle and along with his wife, Sharon, they were sitting at the top table with Hermione, her parents and her grandparents.

"Hermione," Hermione's grandmother, Betty, called as the trio approached the top table. "You look lovely my dear."

"Thanks, Gran," Hermione replied with a smile as she hugged her grandmother.

Betty than hugged her son and daughter-in-law before it was her husband, Alfred's turn to greet his granddaughter and her parents.

"You're looking well, son," Alfred said, clapping Richard on the back.

"So are you Dad," Richard replied. "Have you tried the golf course yet?"

"Men and their sports," Betty chuckled as her husband and son started talking about the golf course and planning to spend the following day on it.

"Are David and Sharon not here yet?" Jean asked.

"They're here, they just haven't come down to dinner yet," Betty replied. "Now why don't you all get a drink and sit down. I'm dying to hear what my little Hermione is up to these days."

"You talk to your gran, I'll get the drinks," Jean told Hermione.

Hermione had just settled down beside her grandmother when her aunt, uncle and two cousins entered the room. Hermione got her eye on them the same time as her grandmother, who instantly waved them over. Hermione fought back a grimace as her two cousins sauntered up to the table with their parents. Both Rebecca and Izabelle were dressed in short dresses which hugged their curves, and their hair and make-up looked expertly fixed.

"Hermione, we almost didn't recognise you," Rebecca said with smirk as she and Izabelle settled opposite their cousin.

"Everyone has to grow up," Hermione replied.

"I suppose you couldn't stay that gawky forever," Izabelle conceded. "Maybe finishing school has been good for you."

"I haven't finished school," Hermione pointed out.

"What? Why not?" Rebecca asked. "I left school a couple of years ago. I'm in college now, training to become a teacher. How are you still in school?"

"I graduate at the end of the year," Hermione answered. "But when I do, I'll not have to go to college. My qualifications will get me into any job I want. I was thinking about going into the medical profession."

"I could imagine you as a nurse," Izabelle said. "You always did like to fuss over people."

"There's nothing wrong with compassion," Hermione said with a tight smile.

"I guess not," Izabelle replied with a shrug. "You'd never catch me looking after sick people though. I prefer to make people beautiful."

Izabelle then launched into a gushing speech about the beauty parlour where she worked as a hairdresser. Luckily Hermione was saved from too much of her cousin's gloating when her mother returned with the drinks, and then it was time for dinner. However, Hermione's reprieve was only brief and once the food was served, conversation got back to what everyone was up to these days.

"I've got the most amazing boyfriend," Izabelle gushed when her grandmother asked about her three granddaughter's love life. "He's so gorgeous, isn't he, Becky?"

"Yeah, he's pretty hot," Rebecca agreed.

"And what about you Hermione, I bet you're still single," Izabelle laughed.

"Actually, I'm not," Hermione replied, feeling smug. "I've got a boyfriend. We've been together since the beginning of the year and we're very happy together."

"Jason will be at the party tomorrow, will your boyfriend?" Izabelle asked.

"No, Draco won't be there," Hermione admitted.

"He's probably not real," Rebecca muttered under her breath as she faked a cough. Her statement was quiet enough that none of the adults heard, but Hermione heard every word.

"Hermione, do you still like to read?" Sharon asked, oblivious to what her daughter had just insinuated.

"Yeah, I'm still a big reader," Hermione answered her aunt.

Hermione chatted about her love for books for a few minutes, before the adults drifted off into their own conversation. With no other option, Hermione turned back to her cousins, only to find them laughing together.

"Surprise, surprise," Izabelle snorted. "Little Hermione is still a freaky bookworm."

"Better a bookworm than an illiterate beauty queen," Hermione shot back.

"Ouch, the bucktooth has claws," Rebecca spat.

"In case you didn't notice, my teeth are perfect these days," Hermione replied, making sure she smiled widely at her cousins. She didn't think they needed to know her teeth had only been fixed by accident following a misfired spell from Draco when he'd been fighting with Harry in fourth year.

"They're not massive anymore, but you're hardly a beauty are you?" Izabelle sneered. "I don't know what your fake boyfriend sees in you."

"Draco isn't fake," Hermione hissed. "He's very real."

"He doesn't even sound real," Rebecca laughed. "What sort of a name is Draco?"

"Draco's a constellation," Hermione replied. "He was named after it. It's a family tradition on his mother's side."

"Yeah, because that's believable," Rebecca said with a snort. "Don't worry Hermione, we know you're still the same strange, little bookworm you've always been. You even attend some sort of dodgy school that lasts longer than normal schools. What is it, a school for freaks?"

Hermione took a calming breath before she said something she would regret, or worse do something she would regret. Ignoring her giggling cousins, Hermione tuned them out as she finished her dinner. The second she finished eating, she headed off for another drink and she then spent the remainder of the night avoiding the nasty pair. Of course she would have to deal with them again over the weekend, but for now she'd had more than enough of Rebecca and Izabelle.

 _ **000000000000000000000000000000000000000**_

"Why are we leaving so early?" Blaise asked Draco as the pair got dressed in Draco's room.

It was just after lunchtime on the day of Hermione's grandparents' party and Draco had informed Blaise that they would be leaving for the muggle world in less than an hour. Blaise hadn't been expecting to leave for another few hours, but luckily he had everything ready so he could dress quickly.

"I've already explained this," Draco answered with a sigh. "I don't want to just turn up at the actual party. I want to speak to Hermione beforehand and check she's okay with this. If she really doesn't want me there, I'll leave."

"Why didn't you just talk to her before the holidays then?" Blaise asked.

"Because it hadn't occurred to me before last night that she might not welcome us just dropping in unannounced," Draco confessed. It had only been when he was running over the plans in his head that he'd decided a different approach might work better with his girlfriend. "This way, it's her choice if we go to the party of not."

"I hope she says yes, I'm looking forward to seeing how muggles party," Blaise said. "I've heard muggle alcohol is way stronger than the wizarding stuff."

"If we are staying, don't do anything to embarrass Hermione," Draco warned. "Our presence is supposed to help her, not make her look like a complete idiot. We don't want her family saying her friends are strange."

"Don't worry, I can charm anyone," Blaise replied with a cocky grin. "I'll have Hermione's family eating out of the palm of my hand."

"Let's hope I can do the same," Draco muttered as he double checked his reflection in the floor length mirror in the corner of his bedroom. It was only occurring to him that if Hermione wanted him to attend the party with her than he would meet her parents, and he wasn't sure what they would think of him. Maybe they wouldn't like the fact their daughter was dating a wizard, especially one who's family had a tendency to look down on anyone other than purebloods.

"Don't worry, Draco, you'll be fine," Blaise reassured his friend. "Just think positive."

Draco nodded, and after warning Blaise that they wouldn't be able to do magic once they were in the muggle world they headed out of Draco's bedroom. Luckily Narcissa thought Draco was just going to Blaise's, so she didn't question them when they exited the house and Draco said he would see her the following day. Once outside, the boys made their way out of the manor gates and walked for a few minutes before stopping out of view of the large house.

"Now what?" Blaise asked. Apparition would have been the natural answer to get to where they were going but all they had was an address, and with apparition a visual knowledge of where you were going was handy in case of mistakes.

"The Knight Bus," Draco answered. Pulling out his wand, he stuck it out in front of him and seconds later a three tiered purple bus pulled up in front of him.

"Where to?" The conductor asked as the two teenagers hopped on-board.

"It's a muggle place, is that all right?" Draco asked as he gave the conductor the address of the hotel.

"Of course," The conductor replied. "The muggles never see us."

Draco and Blaise had barely taken their seats before the Knight Bus shot off at an alarming speed. Neither of them had ever ridden the bus before so they watched out of the window in amazement as the bus darted in and out of muggle traffic as it zapped from destination to destination. After fifteen minutes the bus ground to a halt outside a large fancy looking building.

"This is your stop boys," The conductor called. "I can see a few people outside, so we'll have to wait until the coast is clear."

Once there was no-one outside, the doors to the bus opened and Draco and Blaise hopped off. Before they'd even had a chance to register their surroundings, the Knight Bus blinked out of existence. They were now firmly in the muggle world, although it would be easier to get home as they could just apparate.

"Let's go," Draco said, taking a deep breath. "And let's hope I'm not making a big mistake."

Blaise clapped Draco reassuringly on the back as the two boys walked confidently into the hotel. Since Draco was still slightly nervous about potentially meeting Hermione's parents, Blaise took the lead with the receptionist. Initially she wasn't going to tell them what room Hermione was in, but Blaise's charm quickly kicked in and she gave him Hermione's room number.

"You're amazing," Blaise said with a grin. "We'll definitely have a drink after I've spoken with my friend."

"I'll look forward to it," The receptionist replied.

Blaise gave the receptionist one last smile, before returning to Draco and handing over Hermione's room number. After a quick conversation they decided it was best if Blaise accompanied Draco up to Hermione's room. If Draco and Hermione wanted to talk in private he could take a walk, and possibly share a drink with the receptionist. However, they figured it was best that they were upfront with Hermione and let her know Blaise was around.

Arriving at the room, Hermione was staying in, Draco took a couple of calming breaths before he knocked on the door. It was only after he knocked that he realised that Hermione might not even be in her room. It was still only the early afternoon, and for all he knew she was out somewhere spending time with her family. However, that wasn't the case and after only a few minutes wait the door was opened and Draco came face to face with his shocked girlfriend.


	3. Chapter 3

After the dinner from hell on their first night at the hotel, Hermione was relieved to find her cousins were booked into the spa on the day of her grandparent's party. That meant she could avoid them until the actual party, and she was hoping that they'd be too busy having fun at the party to bother her. And once she'd got the party over with, she only had Sunday lunch to contend with and then they could head home and she could enjoy the rest of her holidays.

With her cousins busy, Hermione took the opportunity to explore the rest of the hotel. Her father had headed off to play golf with her uncle and grandfather, while her mother and aunt had joined her cousins at the spa for the morning and her grandmother was busy catching up with her sisters and their families.

Hermione spent most of the morning exploring the hotel's garden, before joining her gran for lunch. Over lunch, Hermione and her grandmother finally got a chance to catch up. The previous night, they'd no sooner gotten talking when the rest of the family arrived and after that, they hadn't had much of a chance to chat. Luckily they got to spend a good couple of hours together, and apart from keeping her magic a secret, Hermione told her grandmother about her life. She talked about school, her friends and of course, Draco.

After lunch her grandmother headed off for a nap before the party, so Hermione headed back to her own room. Picking up her book she settled down on the balcony and curled up to have a few hours read. Hermione was still sitting reading when there was an unexpected knock on her door. Even though she wasn't expecting anyone, she figured it was one of her parents checking on her. The last people she expected to find when she answered the door was her boyfriend and his best friend.

"Draco," She gasped in surprise.

"Hey," Draco replied, offering his girlfriend a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"We thought we'd surprise you," Draco answered.

"And by the look on your face, I'd say we succeeded," Blaise added.

"That you did," Hermione agreed. "I suppose you better come in and explain yourselves."

"Are we in trouble?" Blaise whispered to Draco as Hermione stepped back and let them into the hotel room.

"I have no idea," Draco confessed. He'd been so confident they were doing the right thing in surprising Hermione, but now they were here he wasn't so sure.

Once Hermione had shut the door, she turned to her boyfriend and his best friend. It would appear that Blaise was well aware of their relationship, and she wondered how long he'd known. To be fair, Hermione had never asked Draco to keep their relationship secret from his friends so she couldn't be mad that he'd confided in Blaise. The only reason she hadn't yet told her friends was she knew they would kick off and she only wanted to deal with them if she was sure her and Draco were going to last. She was now fairly confident their relationship was serious enough to warrant telling her friends, but she'd still wanted to deal with Draco's parents before they went public.

"If you don't want us here, we can leave," Draco offered. "I just figured you might want some support since you didn't exactly seem enthusiastic about today before the holidays. But I'll understand, if you would rather go to your grandparent's party alone."

"We just thought it might rub your cousins' noses in it if they saw your hot boyfriend, and his even hotter friend," Blaise added with a wicked grin.

Hermione had to laugh, knowing Blaise was right. Izabelle and Rebecca would be green with envy if they set eyes on Draco and Blaise. The pair were pretty good looking normally, but they'd both looked to have made an extra special effort. They were both wearing smart black dress trousers, Draco was wearing a deep green shirt while Blaise was in a deep purple shirt and they both looked very muggle like. No-one would place them as wizards.

"I'd like you both to stay," Hermione said after taking a few minutes to decide how to react to the unexpected surprise of he boyfriend and his friend showing up at her door. "But I have to speak to my parents first."

"Ooh, it looks like its meet the parents time, Draco," Blaise laughed, clapping Draco on the arm.

"You'll also have to meet them, Blaise," Hermione warned, causing the Slytherin to splutter in shock. "You can't just turn up at the party unannounced. You both need to meet my parents, and possibly grandparents."

"Grandparents," Blaise repeated in a horrified voice. "I don't do grandparents."

"What do you mean, you don't do grandparents?" Draco asked his friend with a frown. "Surely you have grandparents."

"Maybe," Blaise answered with a shrug. "I have a vague recollection of an old woman with whiskers slobbering over me when I was really young. Other than that, I've got nothing. I barely know what my parents look like, let alone grandparents."

"When you say whiskers, do you mean like a cat?" Draco asked.

"No, like a moustache," Blaise answered. "Surely you've seen these old women with really hairy chins. Well I think my grandmother looked like that. Or she might have just been an old woman who used to babysit me when I was a baby. Either way, grandparents are scary."

"My grandparents are not scary," Hermione said, steering the conversation back to a normal conversation.

"All old people are scary," Blaise stated. "It's like a horrible prediction of the future. Here I am, young, hot and sexy, and then you see an old person and think, one day that will be me. One day I'll be old, my looks will have faded, the pretty girls will have gone, and I'll not be able to get it up without help."

"I should have known it would all come back to sex with you," Draco tutted at his best friend. "Honestly, could you not try and make a better impression. In case you haven't noticed, you're meeting Hermione as my girlfriend for the first time."

"I've met her plenty of times when she's been your girlfriend. The only difference is, now she knows that I know," Blaise argued.

"How long have you known?" Hermione asked now the subject had been raised.

"Right from the beginning," Blaise answered. "I knew something was up with Draco, so I bugged him until he told me what was happening."

"Why didn't you tell me you told Blaise?" Hermione questioned, turning to her boyfriend.

"I knew you were wary about telling your friends, and I didn't want you to think I was putting pressure on you by telling my friends," Draco answered. "I made Blaise promise to keep quiet, and he's much better at keeping secrets than you would think."

"Of course I am," Blaise said, looking offended at the idea he couldn't keep a secret. "I'm a good friend."

"You are a good friend to come to a muggle party with Draco," Hermione said. "Even if you have shown up uninvited."

"Don't be fooled, he's come to try the alcohol," Draco told his girlfriend. "And to see if he can charm muggle girls the same way he can charm witches."

"Just don't charm my cousins," Hermione warned.

"Don't worry, I'll just make sure they know how wonderful you are, and how lucky you are to have such hot friends," Blaise promised, giving Hermione a wink.

Hermione laughed at Blaise, thinking about what fun he would make the party. He was certainly lively and she was wishing that Draco had told her about him knowing about them sooner. Maybe they could have all hung out together in the head dorms and had some fun. But at least they could do that once they returned to school and Hermione had filled her friends in on the situation.

"Okay, we need to go and find my parents and speak to them," Hermione said. "Hopefully they'll have no problem with you two coming to the party."

"If they do, we'll leave without a fuss," Draco vowed. "We don't want to cause trouble, Hermione. We're here to support you, not make things worse for you."

"You have no idea how much I appreciate that," Hermione said as she stepped forward and gave Draco a kiss. Immediately he wrapped her in his arms and she felt at peace for the first time since she arrived at the hotel the previous day.

After a few minutes, Blaise cleared his throat and interrupted the loved up couple. "Sorry to be a party pooper, but hadn't we better go and find the parents. If we're being kicked out, I'd like to know so I can make my apologies to the receptionist. I think she'd set her heart on a night of saucy fun with a handsome stranger."

"You've only just arrived and you've seduced the receptionist," Hermione stated in disbelief.

"We had to find your room somehow," Blaise answered with a shrug.

"Speaking of finding people, how on earth did you find the hotel?" Hermione questioned as the thought just popped into her head. "We're in the muggle world, which isn't somewhere either of you two are familiar with."

"We took the knight bus," Draco answered. "It dropped us off outside."

"What's it like?" Hermione asked. "I've never used it myself, but Harry reckons it's quite the impressive ride."

"It is rather impressive," Blaise said. "Although it's also a bit nauseating the way it pops around all over the place, and the driver flies about at top speed."

"Note to self, don't use the knight bus," Hermione muttered. She wasn't much of a speed freak, and wasn't too keen on being stuck inside a bus that drove at breakneck speed.

With everything sorted, Hermione gathered her bag and her key, before the trio exited her hotel room and headed off in search of her parents. Obviously they tried their room opposite first, and when there was no answer at their door, they headed downstairs. As they went, Hermione pointed out a few distant relatives, but much to her relief they found no sign of her cousins. They were either still at the spa, or were in their rooms getting ready for the big party.

Finally, Hermione located her parents in the bar. Her parents were not only with her grandparents, but her Uncle David and Aunt Sharon were also present. Blaise wasn't impressed when Hermione pointed out the third couple were her aunt and uncle, but he plastered a smile on his face as Hermione led the way over to her family. However, Draco couldn't quite manage a smile as he was nervous about meeting so many of Hermione's family all at once.

"Hello sweetheart," Jean greeted, smiling at her daughter. "Who are your friends?"

Hermione reached for Draco's hand and pulled her boyfriend to her side. "This is Draco, my boyfriend. And this is Blaise, Draco's best friend," She added, pointing to Blaise who was hovering behind them.

Hermione then introduced her boyfriend to her parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle. With all the introductions over, the three teenagers pulled up chairs at the table as Hermione mentioned why her boyfriend and his friend were at the hotel. Of course, she didn't mention Izabelle or Rebecca, she just said they wanted to be with her and keep her company.

"Lovely, more youngsters for the party," Betty gushed when Hermione asked her gran if it was alright for Draco and Blaise to stay for the party.

"You bring as many friends as you want, Hermione," Alfred added, smiling at his granddaughter. It hadn't escaped anyone's notice that Hermione was radiant now that her boyfriend had put in an appearance, whereas the previous evening she'd been noticeably quiet and reserved.

"Thanks," Hermione said, beaming at her grandparents. "Is it okay with you?" She asked, turning to her parents.

"Of course," Richard replied.

"You could have brought Draco in the first place," Jean added. "We wouldn't have minded."

"I didn't think," Hermione admitted. "Luckily, Draco had the sense to turn up and surprise me."

"And what a nice surprise that must have been," Betty said, openly looking Draco up and down. "You're a very handsome, young man, Draco."

"Thank you," Draco said, smiling politely at the old woman. "But I can't take any credit for my looks, it's all down to my parents and I'm fortunate enough to have good looking parents."

"You're fortunate to have a smoking hot mother," Blaise remarked. "I'd say it was a genetic impossibility for a woman as sexy as Narcissa to have an ugly child."

"Blaise," Draco hissed, worried in case Hermione's family were going to rescind their offer for them to attend the party. Luckily, everyone saw the funny side of Blaise's remark and chuckled at him.

"I like you, Blaise," Alfred said, still chuckling. "You've got spirit, and I like that."

"Thank you Sir," Blaise replied, shooting Draco a smug smirk. "And may I congratulate you and your lovely wife on fifty years of marriage. It's quite an achievement."

As Blaise turned on the charm with Hermione's relatives, she shared an amused look with Draco. The party was definitely going to be fun with Blaise around. Her cousins weren't going to know what had hit them, and Hermione knew they were going to be so jealous when they saw Draco and Blaise. Not only were the pair hot, but they were charming, and they had the family eating out of the palm of their hands. By the time the party started in a couple of hours, Hermione's family would already be in love with the two mischievous Slytherins who'd had the nerve to gate-crash a party for a couple they'd never met.


	4. Chapter 4

As Hermione predicted her family thought Blaise and Draco were great within an hour. Hermione's grandmother was so taken by the pair, she even insisted they stayed overnight and joined the family for Sunday lunch the following day. Of course neither Draco nor Blaise were going to turn down the opportunity to stay in a fancy hotel overnight and have a lavish lunch the following day, so both boys agreed to stay overnight. Hermione's grandfather even insisted on paying for the boys' room, and he headed off with Blaise to arrange things.

"I really should be going to get ready," Hermione said to Draco as they left her family. Chances were her family would also be heading up to their rooms to get ready for the party.

"I'll come with you," Draco said.

"And what about Blaise?" Hermione questioned. "I have no objections to getting changed in front of you, but I draw the line at including your best friend."

"I'm sure he can grab a drink in the bar or something," Draco replied with a shrug. "Or he can get settled in his room."

"His room?" Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at her boyfriend. "I was under the impression it was your room as well."

"You won't make me share with Blaise, you'll let me stay with you," Draco replied confidently. However, when Hermione just continued to look at him, he suddenly wasn't as sure of himself. "You would seriously make me share with Blaise, when you're in that big bed all alone?" He asked in disbelief.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens," Hermione replied with a casual shrug of her shoulder. "I might let you stay in my room if you're a good boy."

"I'm much more fun as a bad boy," Draco chuckled, giving Hermione a saucy wink.

Hermione shook her head at Draco as they entered the reception just in time to find Blaise flirting with the receptionist. When they approached Blaise, he informed them that Hermione's grandfather had headed off up to his room, but he'd sorted a room for Blaise and Draco first.

"You keep the key," Draco told his friend when Blaise showed him it. "Hopefully, I'll not be needing it."

"No, I guess you won't," Blaise remarked, giving Hermione a knowing look.

"No decisions have been made about sleeping arrangements yet," Hermione pointed out. "You two could very well be sharing a room, so don't get too excited."

"We'll sort the room out later," Draco said, before turning his attention to his best friend. "Hermione's going to go and get ready. Will you be okay if I go with her, or do you want me to stay with you?"

"I don't need a babysitter," Blaise replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You two go and enjoy yourself. I'm sure I can keep myself entertained for a while."

"We'll meet back here in an hour," Hermione told Blaise. "We can then go to the party together, and I can introduce you to my cousins."

"I'm looking forward to it," Draco said with a sly grin as he wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders.

Giving Blaise one final warning to behave himself, Hermione and Draco headed off to Hermione's room so she could get ready. While Hermione set about gathering what she would need, Draco settled himself on the bed. He was more than happy to sit back and watch as his girlfriend got herself ready for the party.

"I'm going for a quick shower," Hermione said. "And no, you cannot join me," she added when Draco opened his mouth. "Stay here, and I'll be back in fifteen minutes or so."

Gathering a few bits and pieces, Hermione disappeared into the bathroom. When she emerged fifteen minutes later all she was wearing was a skimpy emerald green and black lingerie set.

"Whoa," Draco gasped, sitting up and gazing at his girlfriend as she crossed the bedroom to the dressing table. "Do you have to get dressed?"

"Yes," Hermione replied with a laugh. "I think I might cause a bit of a stir if I went to the party like this."

"Yes, you would," Draco agreed. "Although if they saw you like this, I doubt your cousins would think you were a boring little bookworm."

"Well my cousins won't be seeing me like this," Hermione replied. "There's only one person allowed to see me wearing so little, and he doesn't think I'm a boring little bookworm. Or at least, he better not think that."

"Definitely not," Draco replied. "Boring isn't a word I associate with you. Even before we got together, I didn't consider you boring. You've always been a firecracker."

"I notice you didn't respond to the bookworm comment again," Hermione remarked as she began to magically dry her hair, letting it fall in soft curls down her back.

"I've told you before, I'm afraid I can't dispute that - you are a bookworm," Draco said. "Like I said last time, you just so happen to be my sexy bookworm."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Draco. "I guess I can live with that."

Turning back to the mirror, she applied a light covering of make-up. She then headed over to the wardrobe, and pulled out a floor length, shimmering emerald green dress. When Hermione slipped into the dress, Draco's eyes almost popped out of his head. Despite the fact it was floor length, the dress had a dramatic split that ran up the right side exposing Hermione's toned leg. The top of the dress was low cut enough to emphasise Hermione's assets, but not low enough to be considered slutty. The straps of the dress were thin and delicate, and led into an intricate criss-cross pattern on the back of the dress.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked as she slipped into a pair of black sandals.

"I think you look amazing," Draco replied.

"Thanks," Hermione said, giving Draco a large smile before she added a pair of small crystal drop earrings and a crystal heart necklace she'd gotten for Christmas from Draco. She then spritzed herself with her favourite perfume, before gathering up what she would need in her black clutch bag. "Are you ready?" She asked as she turned back to her boyfriend.

Draco nodded as he jumped off the bed. After checking his shirt and trousers weren't wrinkled, he offered Hermione his arm and the pair exited the room. Heading down to reception, they found Blaise once again chatting up the receptionist. Only this time the girl in question was a different girl than the one he'd been flirting with earlier in the day.

"Blaise," Draco called, grabbing his best friend's attention.

When Blaise turned round, his eyes appreciatively swept over Hermione and he offered her one of his most charming smiles. "Wow, you look stunning."

"Thank you, Blaise," Hermione replied, trying not to laugh as Draco wrapped a possessive arm around her waist and gave his best friend a deadly glare.

"I was only looking," Blaise protested when Draco continued to glare at him.

"I'm not sure I like you looking at my girlfriend," Draco replied. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought you with me."

"You would be lost without me," Blaise shot back. "Now shall we go and show Hermione's awful cousins just how wrong about her they are? Let's go and rub their noses in it shall we?"

"You're wicked, Blaise," Hermione laughed as the trio headed towards the grand ballroom where the party was being held.

"Thank you," Blaise replied with a grin. "I try my best."

When they entered the ballroom, Hermione was slightly disappointed not to see her two annoying cousins. However, her grandparents and parents were already at the party so they made a beeline for them.

"Don't you look lovely, Hermione," Betty gushed as she embraced her granddaughter.

"Thanks. You're looking great yourself," Hermione replied. Her grandmother did look lovely in a deep blue dress that made her look at least ten years younger than she was. Then again, both her grandparents looked younger than their years, and they certainly didn't act like senior citizens.

"It's a beautiful dress, Hermione," Jean said, smiling proudly at her daughter. "You really are growing up, aren't you?"

"Please don't get all maudlin," Hermione said with a slight wince. Her parents had been getting a bit sentimental recently considering she was in her last year of school and would soon be leaving home and starting her own life.

"I can't help it, you just look so grown up," Jean replied.

"I think it's a mother thing, mine's exactly the same," Draco said. "She's always going on about how grown up I am."

"She just misses her little boy," Blaise said. "Luckily for Narcissa, you're still a mummy's boy at heart."

"There's nothing wrong with loving your mother," Draco argued, giving his friend a warning glare.

"Quite right, Draco," Betty said with a firm nod of her head. "Any decent young man should love and respect his mother."

"I wish my mother was around more for me to love and respect her," Blaise said. "Luckily, I've got Draco's mother for that. Narcissa's more like my mum."

"I really hope you don't think of her as your mother, not the way you flirt with her," Draco said with a grimace.

"It's not flirting, it's my natural charm," Blaise replied with a grin, which led to both Hermione's grandmother and mother chuckling affectionately at him.

Hermione, Draco and Blaise stayed chatting with her parents and grandparents for another few minutes, before the group broke up. Hermione's grandparents had other guests to mingle with, and her parents had spotted some old friends they wanted to catch up with. After getting themselves drinks, the three teenagers settled down beside the doors that led to the garden and watched the party in progress. Blaise was eyeing up the pretty women, wondering which of them were single, while Hermione pointed out the people she knew to Draco.

The trio had been at the party nearly fifteen minutes before Hermione spotted her cousins entering the room. Izabelle was wearing a figure hugging lavender dress, while Rebecca was wearing a very short, very tight, red dress. Alongside her cousins was a young man with light brown hair, who looked slightly overwhelmed by the number of people in the room. Hermione figured the boy was Jason, Izzy's boyfriend, and while she agreed he was a pretty good looking boy, he didn't hold a candle to Draco, or Blaise for that matter.

"Get ready for the gruesome twosome," Hermione muttered to Draco and Blaise as her cousins spotted her and headed in her direction.

Draco and Blaise remained seated, studying Hermione's cousins as Hermione got up to greet them. When the pair arrived, they paid no attention to Draco and Blaise. Instead they proceeded to give Hermione a once over, saying nothing about how lovely she looked, before Izabelle practically shoved her boyfriend in Hermione's face.

"It's nice to meet you, Jason," Hermione said politely as she shook his hand.

"You too," Jason replied. "You look very nice."

"Thank you," Hermione replied.

"Your dress is a lovely colour," Rebecca conceded. "Although I'm not sure you have the breasts to pull of such a low cut number."

"And that slit up the leg is a bit daring for you," Izabelle added.

"Well, I think she looks amazing," Draco said as he rose to his feet. "And I have no complaints about your breasts," He added with a saucy wink. "In fact, I'm rather fond of them."

Rebecca and Izabella both frowned at the interruption. However, when turned their attention to Draco and spotted just how good looking he was, they seemed lost for words. Hermione had to chuckle at the pair as they stood ogling her boyfriend.

"I guess introductions are in order," Hermione said. "Izzy, Becky, this is my boyfriend, Draco. Draco, these are my two cousins, Izabelle and Rebecca."

"Boyfriend?" Rebecca squeaked, still gazing at Draco as though she couldn't believe he was real.

"Yes, boyfriend," Draco said, wrapping his arm around Hermione's waist.

"And don't forget about me," Blaise called as he made his presence known.

Yet again Izabelle and Rebecca looked stunned at the presence of another handsome man with their cousin.

"And you are?" Rebecca asked, openly eyeing up the dark haired boy in front of her.

"Blaise Zabini," Blaise answered with a killer smile. "I'm Draco's best friend, and Hermione's friend."

As if to prove his point, Blaise slung his arm around Hermione's shoulder and gave her a peck on the cheek. The action was enough to have both Izabelle and Rebecca standing open mouthed in shock. Whoever would have believed their mousy little cousin would have such a hot boyfriend and friend.

"Hold on, I thought you said your boyfriend couldn't come to the party," Izabelle said, glaring at Hermione through narrowed eyes. Suddenly she was wondering if her cousin was somehow playing a trick on them and pretending these hot strangers were her boyfriend and his friend.

"I'd thought I'd surprise Hermione," Draco answered. "She didn't know I was coming until I turned up at her door."

"How romantic," Rebecca said in a dreamy voice as she continued to eye up Blaise.

"Whatever," Izabelle spat. "Do Gran and Grandpa know we've got gate-crashers at the party?"

"We're not gate crashers," Blaise said with a grin. "Your grandparents invited us. In fact, they insisted we stay overnight and join you all for lunch tomorrow."

"But tomorrow is strictly family," Izabelle argued. "Even Jason isn't having lunch with us tomorrow."

"What can we say, Betty and Alfred liked us," Draco said with a wicked grin.

"We're very charming," Blaise added.

Izabelle huffed and muttered something about freeloaders under her breath, before she took hold of her boyfriend's hand and dragged him across the room. Rebecca shot Blaise one last flirtatious look, before she took off after her sister. Hermione had no doubt that sometime over the course of the evening, Izabelle would try and get her boyfriend an invite to Sunday lunch. Whether she succeeded or not was another matter, but she would certainly try. She wouldn't want to be outdone by her boring little cousin.

"That was rather fun," Blaise chuckled once they were alone again. "Your cousins are very easy to wind up."

"Be careful, I think Becky has a crush on you," Hermione warned. "She'll be trying to seduce you before the night is over."

"I have no interest in a vapid little thing like that," Blaise sneered. "She can try, but she won't get anywhere with me."

"I bet you're pleased we came, aren't you?" Draco asked.

"I am," Hermione replied with a nod of her head. "At least now they might stop acting so superior all the time."

"One can only hope," Draco said. "But how about making sure they see just how happy we are. Do you fancy a dance?"

Hermione smiled as she took hold of Draco's hand. "I'd love to."

"You two have fun, I'm off to grab another drink and see what sort of women I can find to interest me," Blaise called as the pair headed out onto the dancefloor.

As she settled herself in Draco's arms, Hermione could feel her cousins' eyes on her, but she didn't give them the satisfaction of acknowledging them. She was going to spend the rest of the night having fun with her boyfriend, and if Izabelle and Rebecca didn't like it then it was their problem. She'd shown them there was more to her life than books, and that was all she'd wanted to do. Maybe now, when she saw them they would stop making fun of her and realise she wasn't the same girl she'd been when they were children. She'd grown up, and she had a very good life of her own.

After a few dances, Hermione and Draco decided to have a break. While Hermione headed to the bar to grab them some drinks, Draco headed off to the bathroom. Hermione didn't know where Blaise was, but she'd seen him chatting to some woman not long ago, so she figured he'd maybe stepped outside with her to get a bit of air.

Hermione had just grabbed her drinks when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Expecting it to be her boyfriend, she turned around ready to hand him his drink. However, when she turned around it wasn't Draco standing behind her. Standing in front of her, grinning like idiots, were her two best friends, Harry and Ron.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are we really sure about this?" Ron asked for the third time in as many minutes as he ran his fingers through his red hair and checked his reflection in the mirror.

"It all depends on if you want to be there to support Hermione," Ginny offered from where she lying on Ron's bed. "If you don't want to go, you can always back out and hope Hermione's weekend wasn't as bad as it sounded as though it was going to be."

"Ginny's right," Harry said with a sigh as he changed his shirt for the third time. "Hermione's our friend and she's always been there for us, now it's our turn to give something back."

"I agree about that, but maybe we should have mentioned this before the Easter break," Ron said.

When Ginny had first suggested they gate-crash Hermione's grandparent's party, Harry and Ron had thought it was a great idea. They loved the thought of surprising Hermione and being there for her in the face of her nasty cousins' pettiness. However, now they were on the verge of gate-crashing the party of a muggle couple they didn't know and second thoughts were creeping in. What if Hermione didn't appreciate their support and all they ended up doing was humiliating her in front of her entire family?

"It's too late now," Harry said with a shrug. "Hermione will already be at the hotel with her parents. So we're going to have to go through with our plan, or back out and leave Hermione to face her cousins alone."

"Her cousins didn't sound very nice," Ron mused. "In fact they sounded like they needed taking down a peg or two."

"They did, and us showing up might just help with that," Harry said. "So what do you say, Ron. Shall we go and be knights in shining armour for our best friend?"

"Yeah, let's do it," Ron said with a conclusive nod of his head. "Have you got the invitation?"

"Right here." Harry patted his trouser pocket, where he had a replica of the invitation he'd copied from the one Hermione had received.

With the invitation sorted, Harry and Ron tucked their wands into their pockets and headed downstairs. They'd already told Molly they were off to spend the evening with Dean, and although Molly wasn't overly happy with the pair going partying, they were both of age and she technically couldn't stop them going. However, that didn't stop her giving the pair a long lecture on behaving themselves before they finally managed to leave The Burrow.

"Damn, we're going to be late now," Ron muttered once he and Harry had escaped from his childhood home.

"Better late than never," Harry replied with a shrug as he pulled out his wand.

Once the pair were free from the Weasleys back garden, Harry stuck out his wand and in an instant a three story purple bus blinked into sight. Harry and Ron boarded the Knight bus and after paying their fares, they gave their destination to the conductor.

"Popular place today," the conductor chuckled.

Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks, but before they could ask the conductor what he meant they were almost thrown off their feet as the Knight Bus took off at a rapid speed.

"I would sit down before you fall down," the conductor advised the pair as he headed up the winding stairs, seemingly unbothered by the violent movement of the bus they were travelling on.

Stumbling for the nearest seats, Harry and Ron managed to sit down before they ended up on the floor. For the next twenty minutes the pair endured a rollercoaster ride as the Knight Bus sped along at top speed, darting in and out of muggle traffic and magically darting from place to place. Finally, they ground to a halt outside of a large building bathed in moonlight, and the conductor announced it was their stop. Jumping off the Knight Bus, Harry and Ron turned to thank the conductor only to find the purple bus blinking away.

"That was some ride," Ron said as he smoothed down his hair.

"The Knight Bus is never boring," Harry agreed with a chuckle. "Are we ready?"

"Let's go," Ron said determinedly.

Entering the hotel, Harry and Ron found a pretty young woman on the reception desk. They politely asked about the Grangers party and Harry quickly flashed the fake invitation at the woman. For a moment both boys worried she was going to consult some sort of guest list, but the phone began to ring so she pointed them in the direction of the ballroom where the party was being held before answering the phone.

"Thanks," Harry said to the woman as they quickly darted away from reception and headed in the direction she'd pointed them in.

Harry and Ron easily found the large ballroom the party was being held in, and they hovered in the doorway unsure if they were going to be stopped. Fortunately no-one stopped them as they slipped into the crowds. Since Hermione was the only person they knew at the party, the boys focused on trying to find their best friend. At one point Harry thought he spotted a good looking young man with dark hair who looked familiar, but it was just a glance and then the man was gone. Refocusing on Hermione, Harry scanned the crowds until his eyes came to rest on a brunette woman at the bar in a sweeping emerald gown.

"I think that's her," Harry said to Ron, pointing to the woman in green.

"Wow, if it is she looks great from the back," Ron remarked, taking in the criss-cross pattern of the back of the dress which revealed an expanse of flawless skin.

"Let's go and see," Harry suggested.

Harry and Ron made their way over to the bar, and by the time they reached it, they were sure they were approaching Hermione. They still hadn't seen her from the front, or even the side, to give them a clue, but there was just something about her that was so very familiar. When they reached her, Harry tapped her on the shoulder and the pair plastered grins on their faces as the woman turned round and they found it was indeed Hermione.

"Harry, Ron," Hermione spluttered, her shock evident for both boys to immediately see. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Ron laughed. "We're here to offer you some moral support."

"Yeah, we just wanted to help you show your cousins that you weren't a loser and that you had friends," Harry added.

"Although if you want us to leave, we can," Ron offered, noticing that Hermione's welcome had been less than enthusiastic, and she was still staring at them as though she'd never seen them before in her life.

"We don't have to stay," Harry said sadly, also noting Hermione's lack of happiness at their arrival.

"Wow, I don't know what to say," Hermione said, turning back to the bar and putting down the two drinks she was holding. "This is very unexpected."

"Bad unexpected, or good unexpected?" Harry asked warily.

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak a feminine voice to their left interrupted them.

"Now who do we have here? More strangers, Hermione?"

Hermione turned to glare at Rebecca, who had sidled up to them and was currently scrutinising Harry and Ron.

"These are my friends, Harry and Ron," Hermione said. "Boys, this is my cousin, Rebecca."

"Nice to meet you, Rebecca," Harry said, offering the muggle girl a charming smile.

"So these are the friends you told us about all those years ago," Rebecca said thoughtfully. "The ones you conveniently had no pictures of. So they do exist after all."

"Of course we exist," Ron said, offended at the idea that Hermione had made them up.

"And do you also go to this strange school with Hermione?" Rebecca asked.

"If you mean Hogwarts, then yes," Harry answered.

"Hogwarts?" Rebecca scoffed. "What sort of backwards name is that?"

"I've explained before, Hogwarts is a prestigious boarding school with only admits a select few students," Hermione replied snappishly, glaring at her cousin.

"Whatever," Rebecca replied, waving her hand dismissively in Hermione's direction. "So why are your friends here?"

"We're here for Hermione," Harry answered.

"Funny, you never mentioned them earlier," Rebecca said, sliding a glance towards her cousin.

"We're a surprise," Ron supplied.

"Yes, you do look the surprising sort," Rebecca sniffed haughtily. "I have to say, they're cute but not a patch on your so called boyfriend and his friend."

"What do you mean so called?" Hermione demanded of her cousin.

"What boyfriend?" Harry and Ron asked at the same time.

"I thought you said you were her friends," Rebecca said with a frown.

"We are," Ron replied.

"Then surely as her friends, you know about the boyfriend," Rebecca said. "Or was he just a lie after all, Hermione? Some sexy blond thing you hired to play the part of your boyfriend?"

"He's not a lie," Hermione said as she spotted Draco weaving his way back towards her. By the time he was nearly at her, he spotted who she was with and his eyes widened in a rather comical way.

"Then where is he?" Rebecca demanded.

"I'm right here," Draco announced as he slid into the group and placed himself at Hermione's side. Nodding at Hermione's cousin he turned to Harry and Ron who were both staring at him with their mouths wide open in shock. "Potter, Weasley. I didn't expect to see you here tonight."

"Malfoy," Ron gasped in shock.

"So you do know each other after all," Rebecca said with a slight frown. "Although, I'm missing something here, aren't I? If the hot one is your boyfriend, why are the two cuties so shocked to see him here?"

"Because they had no idea we were together," Hermione admitted.

"Ooh, do I sense drama in the works?" Rebecca questioned, buzzing with the thought of some fireworks and her mousy cousin caught in the middle.

"No," Hermione snapped. "Go away Rebecca. I want to talk to my friends alone."

"You can't shoo me away like some little pet," Rebecca snarled. "I have more right to be here then your friends. I can stay if I want."

"Don't push me, Becky," Hermione warned in a low voice thick with danger. "If you don't go away without a fuss, I'll make you regret it."

"Trust me, you don't want to get on her bad side," Draco said with a slight chuckle.

"You've been on her bad side?" Rebecca asked, clearly not believing her cousin meant her threat.

"I have," Draco replied with a nod. "Let's just say your cousin has a mean right hook."

"And I'm not afraid to use it," Hermione added menacingly as she glared at her cousin.

"Fine, I'll go, but don't think you've heard the last of this bookworm. I'll be back with Izzy, and she'll sort you out," Rebecca vowed.

"I'm terrified," Hermione retorted sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at her departing cousin. Once Rebecca had gone, Hermione turned back to Harry and Ron, both of whom were still standing gazing at Draco as they tried to take in everything that had just happened.

"Well this is awkward," Draco drawled.

"Things weren't supposed to go like this," Hermione agreed. "I guess this is what happens when both your boyfriend and your best friends decide to surprise you and support you at the same time."

"I don't understand," Ron whispered. "How is he here?" he asked, pointing at Draco. "How is he your boyfriend?"

"It was never supposed to come out like this, but how about we go into the gardens so I can explain," Hermione suggested. "I'd rather not cause a scene at my grandparents' party."

"You go on out, I'll grab some drinks for us all," Draco offered.

"Thanks," Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend. "They're ours on the bar, but you can get Harry and Ron a drink. And maybe a little something to deal with the shock. Just give the barman my room number, and the drinks will go on my parents' bill."

"I can buy a round of drinks," Draco argued. "I'm not exactly poor."

"You are in the muggle world," Hermione whispered. "Or do you have muggle money in your pockets?"

"Point taken, what's your room number again?" Draco asked.

Hermione gave her boyfriend her room number, before turning back to her two best friends. Taking them by the arms, she steered them through the crowds and out into the lovely gardens. Once outside she settled them down at one of the picnic tables and prepared to tell them all about Draco. This was certainly not how she planned on telling her friends about Draco, but there was no way she ever could have predicted how the weekend was going to go. It was wild enough that Draco and Blaise had shown up, but now Harry and Ron were here and everything had come to a head. She just hoped her two friends kept their cool and her grandparents' anniversary party wasn't going to be ruined. Hermione would never live it down if anything untoward happened, and she knew her cousins would never let her hear the end of it if she or her friends did anything to wreck her grandparents' party.


	6. Chapter 6

When Draco had popped to the bathroom, the last thing he expected to see upon his return was Hermione talking with Harry and Ron. The sight of his girlfriend's two best friends had stunned him momentarily, but he'd quickly recovered enough to stand by her side in the face of her cousin's pettiness. Once Hermione's cousin had departed, they were left to deal with Harry and Ron, and Draco honestly had no idea how the two Gryffindors were going to react. At the moment they were stunned into silence, but he doubted that would last very long. All too soon they would find their voices, and when they did they were bound to have something to say about Hermione's choice of boyfriend.

Not wanting to leave Hermione alone with her friends for too long, Draco quickly ordered a round of drinks from the barman and gave him Hermione's room number. As the barman was getting the drinks, Draco looked around the room for Blaise, hoping he could find his best friend to get some support for himself. Fortunately, he spotted Blaise chatting to a young, attractive woman, but when he caught his friend's eye, Blaise made his excuses to the woman and headed over to the bar where Draco was standing.

"What's with all the drinks?" Blaise asked, noticing the tray of drinks being stacked up behind his best friend.

"We've got company," Draco replied. "Potter and Weasley are here."

"Bloody hell," Blaise gasped in shock. "What are they doing here?"

"The same as us, supporting Hermione with her annoying cousins," Draco answered. "Of course, they didn't know I was here."

"How did they react?" Blaise asked with a wince, imagining the explosions he might have missed.

"They were too stunned to say anything," Draco replied. "But we both know that won't last long. Hermione took them outside into the garden so they wouldn't make a scene. I'm heading out there now to support her, and I hoped you would come as well."

"Will it help having me with you?" Blaise questioned. "Won't it just make them angrier?"

"I don't know," Draco answered honestly. "But there's no point in hiding you. Come with me and we can face the Gryffindors together."

"Fine, but I'm warning you, if I end up getting hit, I'm blaming you," Blaise warned, helping his friend to gather up all the drinks.

"No-one is getting hit," Draco said with confidence, before adding a silent 'I hope', in his mind.

Weaving their way through the ballroom, Draco and Blaise made their way outdoors. They easily spotted Hermione and her friends sitting at one of the picnic table, so they made their way towards them. Harry and Ron still looked to be too stunned to speak, although Draco was guessing Hermione had explained about their relationship. However they both reacted when they saw Blaise was at Draco's side as they jumped to their feet.

"Zabini," Ron spat. "What are you doing here?"

"Supporting my best friend and his girlfriend," Blaise answered, keeping calm in the face of Ron's hostility.

"You told Zabini before us?" Harry asked in a hurt voice, turning to Hermione as he and Ron sat back down.

"She didn't tell him, I did," Draco said as he slid onto the seat next to Hermione and moved closer to her so that Blaise could sit beside them. "Hermione had no idea Blaise knew about us, until we turned up this afternoon."

"Turned up? You mean you weren't even invited?" Ron questioned with a snort.

"No, we weren't," Draco answered. "Just like you and Potter weren't invited. I knew about the party, and I knew Hermione was worried about facing her cousins. We came to offer her some moral support."

"And to show her cousins what hot men she mixes with," Blaise added with a grin.

"We wanted to do the same thing," Harry said, slightly taken aback by the idea that he and Ron had been thinking the same thing as Draco and Blaise, and had come up with a virtual identical plan to support Hermione.

"Maybe you're all more alike than you thought," Hermione offered hopefully. "And maybe it means you can all learn to get along."

"Maybe," Ron replied with a shrug. "But I still don't understand why you didn't tell us. Why the big secret?"

"Honestly, I was afraid of how you would both react," Hermione replied. "You two mean the world to me, and it would break my heart if I lost your friendship. But I fell in love with Draco, and I know you don't like him. I guess I was trying to put off telling you the truth in case I was forced to pick sides and ended up losing someone I loved."

"You really thought we would force you to choose?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

"It had crossed my mind," Hermione admitted. "I have to admit, the pair of you being stunned into silence wasn't the reaction I was expecting when you found out about us."

"I think that's because we never imagined anything like this when we set out to help you," Harry said. "Malfoy is the last person we expected to see at a muggle party, especially one being held by your family."

"Even so, I guess I expected more of an explosion when you discovered the truth," Hermione said quietly.

"What good will kicking off do?" Ron asked. "I won't lie to you, Hermione. I didn't see this one coming, and I'm still struggling to get my head around it. I might not like Malfoy, but even I can see he must care for you to be here."

"I think somewhere in among all that, there might have been a compliment," Draco said with a sly grin.

"Not a compliment, an admission that maybe you're not as bad as I always thought," Ron corrected. "I still don't see what Hermione sees in you though."

"Thank Merlin for that," Draco chuckled. "I'd be worried if you saw in me what Hermione sees."

"So let me get this straight, you two are accepting of my relationship with Draco?" Hermione checked, interrupting things before her boyfriend managed to annoy Ron so much that insults started to fly.

"I'm not exactly dancing a jig at the thought of my best friend dating Malfoy, but I can cope," Ron said, offering Hermione a small smile. "I don't like him, Hermione, but I do love you. I trust your judgment, and if you're happy, than I'm happy for you."

"Ron said it perfectly," Harry said when Hermione turned her attention to him. "We're you're friends, not your keepers. It's not up to us who you date."

"Just as long as he realises we're not going anywhere," Ron added, focusing his attention on Draco. "Hermione is our best friend, and if you hurt her, you'll have us both to deal with."

"Understood," Draco replied, keeping the smirk off his face and the amusement out of his voice. He appreciated Ron's sentiments, but the thought of him and Harry didn't exactly have him quaking in his shoes. If anything, he was confident he could take the pair on easily if the situation arose.

"And for the record, I understand why you didn't tell us," Harry said to Hermione. "Or at least, I understand why you were wary of telling us. In another situation we might just have reacted differently."

"Yeah, we might have," Ron agreed. He didn't like to admit it, but in other circumstances he could imagine himself reacting just as Hermione feared and creating a big scene at the news she was dating their arch enemy. However, not only were they in public, but they'd immediately been faced with something loving that Draco had done to support Hermione, proving right away that he genuinely cared about her.

"Well, this isn't quite what I was expecting," Blaise said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Everyone is so calm."

"Sorry that we didn't fulfill your dreams of a punch-up," Ron sneered at the Slytherin.

"I thought you didn't want a fight," Draco said to his friend.

"I didn't want to be hit, there's a difference," Blaise corrected. "I can't have my looks ruined, not when there's so many women throwing themselves at me at this party."

"Women are throwing themselves at you?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "Which women?"

"Two receptionists for a start," Blaise answered. "And just before Draco grabbed my attention I was chatting up an attractive redhead. Not to mention your little cousin, she was all over me earlier."

"You would seriously be interested in my cousin?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not," Blaise replied with a grimace. "No offence Hermione, but she's an odious little thing. She might be pretty, but she's a nasty piece of work."

"Which cousin was this?" Harry asked. "We've only met the one, and she wasn't exactly pleasant."

"The one without a boyfriend," Blaise answered.

"Becky," Hermione supplied. "The same cousin, you met," she added for Harry and Ron's benefit.

"And is she worse than your other cousin?" Ron asked.

"I would say they were on a par," Hermione replied. "They're worse when they're together, because they just egg each other on. I'm sure you'll get to experience them both before the end of the night."

"Does that mean you're not kicking us out?" Harry checked with a bright smile.

"I need to check with either my grandparents or my parents, but I see no reason why you can't stay as long as there's no trouble," Hermione replied.

"You won't get any trouble from us," Harry vowed. "We could always us this as an opportunity to get to know Malfoy a bit better."

"I think that sounds like a lovely idea," Hermione replied with a smile, although she was very aware that neither Draco nor Ron looked too sure about Harry's suggestion. "I just now need to go and check that you can both stay."

"Here come your parents, you can ask them now," Draco said, indicating to where Hermione's parents had just exited the hotel and were making their way towards the group of teenagers.

"Hermione, here you are," Richard called. "What are you doing out here?"

"Harry, Ron, what are you doing here?" Jean asked as she caught sight of her daughter's two best friends.

"We came to surprise Hermione," Harry answered. "Sorry for gate-crashing the party."

"Two sets of surprise guests on the same weekend," Richard remarked with raised eyebrows. "Anyone would think you've been telling your friends all sorts of horror tales about your family, Hermione, since they all see the need to come and support you."

"It's not like that Dad. It's…it's…" Hermione trailed off, unsure how to say the problem was her cousins when they were the children of her father's brother.

"Isabelle and Rebecca," Richard finished for her. "I know they're difficult girls to get along with, sweetheart. And I know it's not easy not being able to tell them about your magic."

"It does make things hard," Hermione confessed.

"Which is why we all wanted to be here," Draco said, taking hold of his girlfriend's hand. "We might not be able to tell everyone in there what an amazing witch Hermione is, but we can tell them what an amazing person she is, and that she has people in her life who love her."

"Exactly," Harry agreed, hardly able to believe Draco had managed to articulate everything he was feeling inside. "We just wanted to show Hermione's cousins that she has friends, friends who love her."

"In that case, what are you all doing sitting out here?" Jean asked. "You lot get yourself inside and have a good time. And thank you all for coming to support our daughter, it means the world to us that she has people she can rely on in her life."

Exchanging grins, the group rose to their feet and headed back into the party. Almost immediately they were pounced on by Rebecca, who had found Izabelle. Clearly she'd been telling tales to her older sister as Isabelle looked distinctly unimpressed to find her mousy little cousins with two more boys at her side. Neither of the newcomers were as good looking as the first two boys, but they were both fairly cute and it was clear they thought that world of Hermione.

"Do you honestly think this changes anything?" Izabelle sneered at Hermione.

"What?" Hermione frowned, confused as to what her cousin meant.

"Surrounding yourself with these people," Izabelle said, gesturing to the four boys at Hermione's side. "It doesn't change who you are. So what if you've got a hot boyfriend and cute friends? You're still the boring little bookworm you always were."

"You're always going to see me like that, aren't you?" Hermione replied with a sigh. "You've made a judgment about me based on our childhood, and nothing will change your views on me. You don't want to see the woman I've become. You don't want to admit there's more to me than just books. Well, I don't care what you think of me. I don't care if you spend the rest of our lives calling me a bookworm. I know there's more to me than that, and so do the people who love me. Think of me as your mousy little cousin all you want, but I am no longer that girl. I've moved on, and so should you two. You've both got good lives, so why do you feel the need to try and bring me down? Grow up, or you're going to end up bitter and twisted as I lead a happy fulfilling life with my friends."

Leaving her cousins staring at her with open mouths, Hermione headed off to join the fun with Draco, Blaise, Harry and Ron at her side. It may have taken her a while, but with the love and support of her friends, Hermione had finally stood up to her cousins. She'd finally shed the image of the boring bookwork they'd forced on her as a child, and she knew she would never again give their opinions of her a second thought. Her cousin's opinions didn't matter, everyone who really mattered to her loved her for who she truly was.


	7. Chapter 7

Following her speech to her cousins, both Izabelle and Rebecca steered clear of Hermione for the rest of the evening. A couple of times, Hermione noticed Rebecca shooting flirtatious looks Blaise's way, but he steadfastly ignored her and focused on the other women eager to grab his attention. As for Hermione, her focus on was on her boyfriend and friends, and ensuring she had a good time.

Hermione introduced Harry and Ron to her grandparents, who seemed thrilled that Hermione had brought even more friends to their party. Aside from meeting her family, Hermione was pleased to note her friends made a real effort with the two Slytherins, especially Draco. It was clear that they were never going to be instant friends, but she was hopeful that they would learn to get along. Maybe it was for the best that they had discovered her relationship in such a surprising way that it didn't give them the opportunity to be too mad at her, and they'd accepted things easier thanks to seeing with their own eyes how much she meant to Draco.

As midnight approached, Hermione was having a great time and she was rather sad when Harry and Ron announced it was time they were leaving. A few other people had left the party, and a few of her family members had already retired for the night, but the party was still going strong. Even Hermione's grandparents were still enjoying themselves seated in the corner of the room with their two sons, their daughters-in-law and a few close friends.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Hermione asked her friends as she and Draco walked them out of the ballroom and towards the reception area.

"Yeah, Mum will kill us if we're out much later," Ron said with a sheepish shrug. He would rather not have admitted that his mother kept such a close eye on him in front of Draco, but it had become obvious over the course of the evening that the blond was sticking to Hermione's side.

"Thanks for coming," Hermione said, hugging Ron before turning to Harry and giving him a hug as well. "I'm really pleased you surprised me."

"Not that it was just you who got the surprise," Harry chuckled.

"It was surprises all round," Hermione agreed. "But I'm so grateful you came. I just wish I'd thought earlier, and I could have asked you all to come along in the first place."

"Things might not have ran as smooth that way," Ron said. "You would have had to tell us beforehand about Malfoy, and we might not have been as supportive as we've been tonight."

"Yeah, as funny as it sounds, I think this was the perfect way for us to find out your secret," Harry added. "We got to see first-hand how much you mean to Malfoy."

"And you got to see I'm not a complete git," Draco interjected.

"Not a complete one," Harry agreed with a laugh. "See you Malfoy, and remember that we're watching you. You break Hermione's heart, and we'll break your legs."

"Harry," Hermione hissed, even though she was unable to hide a smile at her friend's protectiveness.

"No need to get touchy, Hermione. If he loves you as much as he claims, he needs never have to worry about his legs," Harry said.

"He's got a point," Draco said to his girlfriend as he wrapped his arm around her waist and dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "I'm not going to break your heart, therefore I'm not worried about their threats. Besides, I like the fact you've got people who love you enough to threaten me."

"You are so strange," Hermione laughed at her boyfriend before turning back to her friends and saying goodnight again.

"See you on the train," Ron called as he and Harry headed towards the front doors so they could summon the Knight Bus and return home.

"We'll save you both a seat," Harry added as the pair gave Hermione a final wave and disappeared out into the chilly night air.

"Do I really have to sit with Gryffindors on the train back to school?" Draco asked his girlfriend as they headed back towards the party.

"No, you don't have to, but it would be nice," Hermione replied. "I would like everyone to get along. Wouldn't you like to be the one responsible for house unity between the Gryffindors and Slytherins?"

"Can't say I'm fussed to be honest," Draco answered with a shrug. "But for you, I'll play nice with your friends. If it means sitting with you on the train, I'll sit with Potter and Weasley and any other Gryffindors you want."

"And that is the perfect answer," Hermione laughed, planting a kiss on Draco's cheek before dragging him onto the dance floor for one final dance of the evening.

Half an hour later, Hermione and Draco were ready to call it a night. After saying goodnight to Hermione's parents, they caught Blaise to quietly let him know he would have the room to himself, before they headed off to Hermione's room. Even though they hadn't made it obvious they were going to be together, they suspected her parents knew they would be sharing a room. And Rebecca certainly knew as just as they reached Hermione's door, she emerged from the second set of lifts in time to see them enter the room together.

"I think your cousin will be spreading this around tomorrow," Draco muttered, pulling Hermione into his arms the second the door had swung shut behind them.

"Who cares? She's only jealous," Hermione retorted. "I'm the one going to bed with a very sexy blond, while she's off to bed on her own."

"I am very sexy," Draco agreed with a smug smirk.

"You're very conceited," Hermione laughed. "Seriously, I need to stop feeding that ego of yours."

"I can't help it if I know my own value," Draco replied with a shrug. "Wait until you meet my father, he's way worse than me. Now there is a man with bucket loads of confidence."

"Like father, like son," Hermione remarked.

"That's what mother always says," Draco said with a boyish grin. "But seriously, are you not bothered about your cousin and what she might say about us?"

"No," Hermione replied. "I'm done letting my cousins get to me. They can say and think what they want, I don't care anymore. Besides, if this weekend hasn't shown them I've matured and am not the girl they remember, nothing will. Who cares what they think, I certainly don't. Now unless you want to spend the rest of the night discussing my relatives, I suggest you kiss me."

"I can do more than kiss you," Draco replied, swooping a laughing Hermione up in his arms and depositing her on the bed. Climbing onto the bed next to her, he proceeded to do far more than just kiss her, before the couple curled up and drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

 _ **000000000000000000000000000000000000000**_

Hermione and Draco opted for a leisurely breakfast in bed, before Draco went to make sure Blaise was up and ready for lunch with her family. While Draco and Blaise were tidying themselves up and freshening up their clothes so they looked like different ones from the previous evening, Hermione found her parents and thanked them for allowing Draco and Blaise to stay for the party, and then overnight. She also thanked them for allowing Harry and Ron to join the party.

"I've also got some money to go towards the bill," Hermione said. Draco had given her some Galleons for her to change into muggle money to help with the bill, especially considering they'd added a bit onto the bill with their drinks the previous evening.

"We don't want your money, Hermione," Richard said.

"Technically, it's Draco's," Hermione replied. "Or at least it's roughly the equivalent of the money Draco gave me. I know you and Grandad offered to pay for the room, but Draco wanted to pay for the extras like the drinks and breakfast this morning. Please don't refuse it. He's trying to do the right thing."

"Okay, we'll take it," Richard said, secretly impressed with Draco's chivalry and his insistence of paying towards some of the extras.

Hermione thanked her parents, and while they headed into the dining room, she waited for her boyfriend and his best friend. Less than five minutes later, Draco and Blaise appeared and the trio headed into the fancy dining room. Since it was now just the family, the meal was being served on one very long table. Hermione's parents had saved them seats just opposite the couple and Hermione's grandparents.

"Hello Hermione," Betty greeted with a smile as her granddaughter settled in opposite her. "Hello boys."

"Good morning Mrs Granger," Draco answered with a smile. "I enjoyed the party last night."

"Yeah, it was great," Blaise enthused.

"I noticed you enjoyed yourself, Blaise," Alfred said with a chuckle. "You seem quite the charmer. The women were very taken with you."

"I do like the ladies," Blaise replied with a grin.

As Blaise continued to chat to her grandfather, while Draco charmed her grandmother, Hermione turned her attention to the rest of her family. The room was slowly filling up, and it came as no surprise to her when Rebecca and Izabelle entered the room with Izabelle's boyfriend, Jason. Izabelle had been determined to get her boyfriend an invite to the lunch the previous evening, and unsurprisingly she had succeeded.

Hermione wasn't sure how her two cousins would react to her after the previous evening, but they just carried on from where they left off and virtually ignored her. After saying hello to their grandparents, they settled in their seats further down the table and didn't give Hermione a second glance. At least Hermione didn't notice them looking in her direction, but afterwards Draco mentioned that he'd seen her cousins shooting him and Blaise unimpressed looks throughout the meal.

Once the meal was over, everyone headed off to pack, but before Hermione could head upstairs with Draco, her grandmother caught her and asked for a word.

"I'll catch you up," Hermione told Draco as he headed off with his best friend.

"I won't keep you long," Betty promised. "I just want to tell you how proud your grandfather and I are of you."

"Thank you," Hermione replied with a slight blush.

"I mean it Hermione," Betty said, taking hold of her granddaughter's hands. "You've grown up into a strong, beautiful young woman. When you were little, I was so worried that your cousins would dent your confidence. Don't get me wrong, I love Izzy and Becky, but they never understood you. I think they were jealous of you."

"Of me?" Hermione laughed. "They weren't jealous, they just hated me."

"They don't hate you, Hermione," Betty said. "But I do think they were jealous of you. You were never one to follow the crowd and be influenced by them. You've always known your own mind, and you've always been so clever. And of course after this weekend, they're going to be even more envious of you. With your lovely friends, and even lovelier boyfriend."

"They'll probably just think I was showing off," Hermione said with a shrug.

"You weren't, you were just lucky enough to have your boyfriend and friends come to support you," Betty said. "And I'm pleased they did. I'm pleased I met them all, and more importantly, I'm pleased you've got so many people in your life that love you. And that includes your grandfather and I, Hermione. We love you, and we're very proud of you. Something tells me you're going to make a splash in the world once you've left school."

"Maybe," Hermione said with a bittersweet smile, knowing that whatever she achieved in the wizarding world wouldn't register in the muggle world where she'd grown up.

"There's no maybe about it, you're destined for great things, Hermione," Betty insisted. "Now go back to that lovely boyfriend of yours and hold onto him. He's a keeper, Hermione."

"Yes, he is," Hermione agreed with a smile.

Hermione shared a fond farewell with her grandmother, before she headed up to finish her packing and to squeeze in as much time as she could with her boyfriend before they had to go their separate ways.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – This last chapter is a little bit shorter than the rest, but I wanted to include a scene going back to Hogwarts with Draco's other friends involved. I hope people enjoyed this story, and for those hoping to get Hermione meeting Draco's parents in this story don't worry, I have plenty of ideas on that scenario and plan to do a short story about Hermione meeting the Malfoys. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always the support I get is very much appreciated and keeps me motivated to write.**

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Hermione arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, feeling surprisingly nervous. It had been a huge relief to her that Harry and Ron had taken the news of her relationship with Draco in their stride when they discovered it, but now she couldn't help but worry what would happen now her friends had gotten used to the news. Maybe now they'd thought about things they would disapprove and all her worst fears about losing them would come true. Hermione hoped that wasn't going to happen, but she couldn't help but worry about it.

Hermione's nerves weren't even eased when she first spotted Harry and Ron, standing with Ron's younger sister, Ginny. The trio hadn't even seemed to notice her, and it wasn't until she was approaching them that Harry spotted her and shot her a smile.

"Hi," Hermione greeted nervously.

"Hi," Harry returned, giving Hermione a strange look. "Why do you sound nervous?"

"Because I am," Hermione admitted. "I've sort of convinced myself that things will be different now you've had a proper chance to digest my news."

"They aren't," Harry assured her. "We stand by everything we said at the party. You're our best friend, and nothing can change that. You can date who you like, and we'll support you."

"Thanks guys," Hermione said, letting out a relieved breath. "I was so worried thing might have changed over the last week."

"Nope, nothing's changed," Ron said with a smile. "We're still as shocked as we were when we found out you were with Malfoy."

"You're seriously still shocked?" Hermione questioned with a laugh.

"It's a lot to take in," Ron protested. "I think it'll be weeks before we fully accept that our best friend is dating Draco Malfoy of all people."

"I'm still not sure I can believe it," Ginny said. "Until I see it with my own eyes, there's still a part of me thinks that these two are pulling my leg."

"It's true, Ginny," Hermione replied as she glanced around the platform for any sign of her boyfriend.

"I haven't seen him," Harry supplied, knowing who his best friend was looking for. "But we better get on board. We can grab a compartment and he can find us."

Hermione followed her friends onto the train, but before they could grab a compartment, they spotted Blaise leaning out of a compartment further down and waving to them.

"I still can't believe we're going to sit with Slytherins," Ron muttered to Harry as they made their way to where Blaise was waiting for them.

"I know, it's so surreal," Harry returned, sharing his friend's disbelief at the situation. In a matter of weeks their entire world had changed, and they were now associating with people he would have sworn they would have left school without really getting to know.

When they reached the compartment, they found Blaise and Draco were both in residence along with three other Slytherins – Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Theo Nott. Draco had clearly told his friends about his romance with Hermione as none of the Slytherins seemed surprised when the Gryffindors entered the compartment.

"Hey," Draco greeted with a smile as his girlfriend entered the compartment first.

"Hi," Hermione replied, smiling back at Draco as she settled into the seat next to him.

Pansy Parkinson was sitting opposite them, and while her friends and Draco's friends exchanged awkward greetings, Hermione felt Pansy's eyes on her. Looking up she found Pansy studying her, and she wondered if it was going to be Pansy who caused trouble.

"Knock it off, Pans," Draco ordered, noticing his friend's attention on his girlfriend. "It's not like you're meeting Hermione for the first time, so stop staring."

"Sorry, this is all just very surreal," Pansy remarked, not removing her gaze from Hermione.

"I think it's very romantic," Daphne supplied. "They're like two star crossed lovers, falling in love despite all their differences and their rivalries."

"You read too many mushy romance books, Daph," Blaise snorted.

"It's better than not reading at all," Daphne shot back.

"I read, just not mushy girl crap," Blaise retorted.

"There's nothing wrong with romance," Daphne replied with an elegant shrug of her shoulders.

Throughout Daphne and Blaise's bickering, Hermione was aware that Pansy was still watching her. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to relax until she'd done something about the other girl, she looked her in the eye and told her if she had something to say, she should just say it.

"Did Draco really turn up at a muggle party, just to be there for you?" Pansy asked.

"He did," Hermione confirmed.

"And it was completely muggle? No magic or anything?" Pansy checked.

"It was all muggle," Hermione replied, wondering where Pansy was going with her line of questioning.

"Hmm," Pansy hummed as a small smile crept onto her face. "I guess it's true after all."

"You guess what's true?" Hermione questioned, wondering if Pansy didn't believe that she and Draco were really together.

"Draco's in love," Pansy replied. "He damn well has to be to go to a muggle party. I never thought I would see the day, Draco went muggle."

"Is it a problem?" Hermione asked, aware that everyone was watching her and Pansy and they were all awaiting the outcome of their conversation with baited breath.

"Somehow, I don't think it would matter to Draco if it was," Pansy replied with a shrug. "He went to a muggle party for you, so I doubt anything anyone has to say will deter him from carrying on a relationship with you."

"But you don't like it," Hermione concluded. She'd long suspected that Pansy fancied Draco, so she wasn't totally surprised that the Slytherin witch disapproved of them being together.

"I haven't made a decision yet," Pansy answered honestly. "It's no secret, I'm not your biggest fan, Granger, and I doubt you like me too much. However, how we feel about each other doesn't really matter. Draco is my oldest friend, and he's all I really care about. You seem to make him happy, so I'm not going to cause trouble. I guess I can come to accept you if you and Draco are the real deal."

"We are," Hermione said, slipping her hand into Draco's.

"We'll see," Pansy said airily. "But Granger, just a word of warning. If you hurt Draco, I'll hunt you down and make you regret the day you ever joined the wizarding world."

"Pansy," Draco warned in a low voice.

"It's okay Draco," Hermione said soothingly to her boyfriend, although her eyes didn't leave Pansy's. "Pansy is just being a good friend and looking out for you."

"I don't need looking out for, I can take care of myself," Draco argued.

"As if," Pansy snorted. "Under that tough exterior of yours, you're nothing but a marshmallow. Granger has the potential to break your heart into a million pieces, so I'm just warning her what will happen if she does that."

"Message understood, Pansy," Hermione said with a slight smile. "I won't hurt him, I promise."

"Not that's sorted, can we talk about something else," Draco muttered. He wasn't at all impressed that Pansy had called him a marshmallow, especially as Harry, Ron and Ginny were all sitting in the compartment.

"I can tell you about the sexy woman I pulled at Hermione's party," Blaise said excitedly. "She did stuff you would never believe."

"I'm not so sure we need to hear this Blaise," Draco said warily.

"I need to hear about it," Theo said. "Was this woman a muggle?"

"She was," Blaise confirmed. "And damn, those muggle women are wild."

Despite Draco's protests, Blaise couldn't help but dish the dirt about the woman he finally ended up with on the night of the party. Hermione wasn't sure if he was just exaggerating, or even downright lying, but she was just hoping that whoever he'd hooked up with wasn't a member of her family. Given the depraved details he wasn't going into, Hermione didn't think she would be able to look the woman in question in the eye again. Fortunately when Blaise did finally remember to mention her name, it wasn't a one Hermione recognised. Clearly whoever Blaise had been getting frisky with wasn't one of her relatives.

"So what happened with these cousins of yours, Hermione?" Ginny asked when Blaise finally finished talking. "Harry and Ron said they were pretty stuck-up."

"I finally realised that nothing was going to change their opinions of me, and I was just stressing myself out over something that just didn't matter," Hermione replied. "I'm not going to let them get to me ever again."

"You should have heard her rip into them, it was great," Harry enthused, telling the group about Hermione's scathing speech to her two cousins.

"I couldn't have done it without you all there to back me up," Hermione said with a smile. "You all gave me the strength I needed to finally stand up to my cousins."

"But did you at least make them jealous of you first?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know," Hermione answered with a shrug.

"You did," Blaise said with confidence. "I mean, how could you not make them jealous? They were drooling all over Draco and I, and they even thought Potter and Weasley were cute. I'm telling you, they were green with envy."

"Mission accomplished then," Ginny said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess it was," Hermione replied softly.

One thing was for sure, she would never dread another family reunion. Thanks to her boyfriend and friends, she would never feel inferior to her cousins again. She was who she was, and she was proud of who she was. True, she might still be a bookworm, but there was far more to her than that. She was a strong, powerful witch with a gorgeous boyfriend and amazing friends. She had far too many good things in her life to let her cousins' rain on her parade again. Never again would she doubt herself, and never again would she let her cousins dampen her spirit. She was Hermione Granger, and nothing and no-one was ever going to make her feel as though she wasn't good enough again.

 **The End.**


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